All I Know
by zeFluffleTruffle
Summary: [Gameverse] When Cynthia wakes up on a mountain with no memory of who she is, she knows that something is wrong. Luckily, she meets a guy named Red, who might be able to help her remember who she is. However, Cynthia begins to find that she doesn't want to return to her old life if it means leaving Red...Prompted by Noitoire's Challenge.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a fanfic for Noitoire's Challenge, which basically asks for a fanfic centering around Red/Cynthia. Some people have dubbed that relationship as ChampionHeartShipping. Personally, I think that it's one of the most random pairings ever, but I guess that it could be pretty interesting. That's why I'm writing this. Please forgive me for anything here that doesn't fit in with your headcannon. I usually hang out in other fandoms, and I only play the games. So I apologize to all the manga or anime fans.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon. **

She woke up with a huge pain in her head and a huge gap in her memory. From the moment that she had opened her eyes to a dark cavern, Cynthia knew that something was wrong. For some odd reason, Cynthia couldn't remember anything. Oh, she could remember her first name well enough. But what was her last name? Where was she born? Where did she live? Where was she currently? Important facts about her own personal life were missing. She could recall a few things, such as the year (1326 After Trainers), the name of the ex-Champion of Hoenn (Steven Stone), and Johto's most famous professor (Professor Elm). But she could remember nothing about herself.

Perhaps her clothing would help her. Cynthia looked down at herself, and found that she was wearing all black. Was black her favorite color, or was she mourning for someone? This question was already frustrating her. She had on a comfortable trench coat with fur trimmings, classy black pants, and black combat boots with gold buckles. Maybe she was wealthy. This idea did seem to be supported by her clothing, but then again, she may have attended some sort of formal event, and she could recall a very clouded memory of running through a rural town as a child. She tried to dig deeper through the memory of this town, but could not go any further. Sighing in frustration, Cynthia absently admired her own boots, thinking that they were similar to those epic, killer boots that Delcattywoman had worn in "The Dark Knight Rises", one of the Zubatman movies. This thought only added even more to her agitation. How was it that she couldn't remember her own surname, but knew the characters of a superhero movie? Cynthia stood up, and brushed herself off, accidently touching a round object on her belt. A red light flashed and Cynthia took a step back, startled. A dark, menacing shadow had appeared on the cavern wall.

Cautiously, Cynthia crept towards the silhouette. As she walked closer to it, she saw that it was a massive, mighty creature, with a red underbelly, a golden streak beneath its belly, a golden spot on the top of its snout and tough purple skin. On each arm there was a large fin, on its back there was a dorsal fin, and on its tail there was another fin. Then, on each side of its head, the creature had something resembling jet plane engines. Taking a deep breath, Cynthia looked into the creature's eyes. It gave a slow, creepy smile, revealing rows of sharp, pointy teeth.

"Oh my goodness!" Cynthia screamed in fright. "Get away from me, you...you land shark!" She did not know any other names to use to insult the monster.

Curiously, the creature tipped its head to the side, as if in confusion, and slouched down. Cynthia could not fathom why, but she felt guilty for yelling at the creature. Though its appearance was terrifying, it currently looked vulnerable and sad.

"Aw, you poor thing. I'm sorry...AAGH!" The creature had lifted Cynthia up and cuddled her in its arms, having taken the blonde woman's apology as a signal to hug her. A warm, rich sound rumbled from the creature's throat. "Put me down, please."

She was set down gently onto the ground. After being hugged by the creature, Cynthia's fear had ebbed away. Thinking hard for a moment, Cynthia realized something. "You came from a Pokeball, didn't you? Am I your Trainer?"

The creature gazed upon her with a sorrowful expression, deducing that Cynthia had lost her memory. With a long claw, it pointed towards one of Cynthia's coat pockets. Cynthia reached down, and pulled out a Pokedex. "Wow, someone trusted me with this? I must be pretty trustworthy and all. Here, let me scan you. I can't remember what kind of Pokemon you are."

_Beep. _A robotic voice came from the Pokedex, citing, "Garchomp, the final evolutionary form of Gible, evolves from Gabite at level 48. It is a dragon and ground type, and is rumored to fly at sonic speeds, creating blades of wind that fell nearby trees. Known for being a territorial creature and a ferocious predator, Garchomp is a cave-dweller, and is seldom seen in the wild."

Cynthia blinked in shock, and her Garchomp seemed to stand a little taller in pride. Finally, Cynthia commented to Garchomp, "So, let me guess, I'm a pretty darn good Trainer. Honestly, it's hard to believe that I'm this awesome. Sorry that I forgot who you are, bro."

Garchomp seemed a little unsatisfied with these words. The creature tapped the Pokedex screen. "Oh...so you're a girl? Well, sorry, girl. I'll check on my other Pokemon later. Let's get out of this cave."

They began walking forward. Cynthia noticed that the light in the cavern was growing brighter, and she strided a little faster in relief. She had not encountered any other Pokemon, as Garchomp's fearsome look had chased away all the other creatures. The only signs of life in the cavern were the shadows of flying Zubats, slumbering Geodudes, and water dripping from the ceiling.

Soon, they were out of the cave. The pair found themselves standing in snow. Shivering, Cynthia wrapped her coat around her. "Am I usually this stupid?" she asked Garchomp. "Why in the world would I come up to the top of some random mountain? Now I can't really ask for help. Can you fly us down?"

Garchomp shook her head. Cynthia reached up to pat the creature's head, and said, "Well, I guess we could go explore a bit...Hey, wait a minute! Do you see that silhouette over there? Maybe that guy could help us. Sir! Excuse me, sir?"

She dashed over to the person, Garchomp in tow. The stranger had his back turned to her. His stance was tense, as if he was expecting her to attack him right then and there . On his right shoulder there rested a furry yellow Pokemon.

"Um, I was wondering if you could help me," explained Cynthia. "I know this sounds a little crazy, but I just woke up in the middle of a cavern. Currently I can't remember anything about myself, except for my name, and I just realized that I own some Pokemon, one of which is a Garchomp. I don't expect you to recognize me, since it's highly improbable that I am a celebrity, but I was wondering if you could help me get down this mountain."

He was silent for quite awhile. Then, he spoke. "Are you a news reporter, or one of my challengers?"

Cynthia felt taken aback, and quickly shook her head, saying, "Well, no. Why? Are you someone well-known? I'm afraid that I don't know you."

"Sorry, I thought that you were someone else." His voice was throaty, as if he did not use it often. "Can't help you get down right now. The sun's going down, and it's a long way down."

"Oh." Cynthia's shoulders slumped. "Are there any other options for me?"

The man hesitated. Then he took a deep breath, and said, "I know a warm cave near here."

Instantly, Cynthia smiled. "Thank you. I can't tell you how grateful I am for your help. You are a really, really kind person. My name's Cynthia. What's yours?"

He pulled down his baseball cap over his face, and turned. "Red."

**Did anyone find Cynthia calling Garchomp a land shark funny? Seriously. That thing is literally a land shark. But I prefer calling Cynthia's Garchomp Trollchomp. It demolished my team so badly the first time I fought her. I'm pretty sure that it has a "U mad bro?" face permanently attached to it. Anyways, is anyone else doing the Nuzlocke challenge? I just started doing the Nuzlocke challenge for my Platinum game. Okay, I'm out.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews, guys. I really appreciate it. Okay, here comes a really long piece of text, but I suggest that any of you who think that Cynthia is out of character read this.**

**One of you mentioned that Cynthia is out of character (by the way, thanks for the review. My writing is definitely not perfect). That may be true, but since I only play the games, I am basing her character here off of the character in the games. In the games, I have noticed that she is very talkative (if I'm not mistaken, she mentioned this herself once too, and she exclaims or asks questions a lot. She speaks sort of formally (so yes, the "sorry, bro" was very unnecessary), and she's kind of scatterbrained. Besides, here she's lost her memory, so I suppose her character could be a little more odd, though I think I'll get the hang of her original character soon enough. Thanks for the critique, and I apologize for all of my errors.**

**To Noitore: Sorry that I'm not following the rule that you gave that Red should give his Pokemon nicknames. I honestly don't think that "cuteness" is part of his character in game. Anyways, here's the next chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon.**

Being naturally quiet enabled Red to be highly observant of others. And boy did he observe many things about the blonde lady that he had just met. It was necessary for him to observe this Cynthia woman, as he was suspicious of her. While she did seem to be a kindred spirit, her story did not seem very plausible at all.

One thing that he easily noticed was that Cynthia was quite the chatterbox. In fact, her voice never ceased to end. It didn't take long for Red to begin to feel irritated. For a woman who claimed to have lost her memory, she could go on and on about various topics. Her manner of speaking was odd, too. She spoke formally, and yet, her tone of voice seemed slightly childish- especially when she began speaking of ice cream. Red quickened his pace a bit, in the hopes that she might shut up once they reached the cave. He was used to chatter (after all, his frenemy Blue would talk 24/7), but did that mean he was fond of it? However, Cynthia did make an effort to get him to talk. Most talkative people enjoyed talking about themselves.

"So what do you like to do?" she inquired.

"..."

Behind him, she frowned. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that. Could you please speak up?"

"Traveling," Red muttered. Just because he was quiet didn't mean that he was antisocial. It was quite the contrary, in fact. He loved meeting new faces (though now he was starting to doubt that, as Cynthia's banter was annoying him), bonding with his companions (also known as his Pokemon) through traveling experiences, and battling others. There was something freeing about the feeling of traveling. That was why he didn't always isolate himself up on Mount Silver, unlike the rumors about him said.

"Oh!" Cynthia clapped her hands together, and Red winced. Did she have to be so enthusiastic about everything? "I do too! I remember when I went to...ah..." That last sound was a sound of pain. He whipped around to see Cynthia pressing both of her hands to her temples.

Red raised an eyebrow, feeling slightly awkward. It was clear to him now (well, actually, it had been clear to him since he had been a child, but whatever) why Blue constantly told him, "Dude, we definitely need to work on your people skills." He didn't know how to comfort others, especially those of the opposite gender. Uncomfortable, he began to pet Pikachu's bright yellow fur.

The blonde woman understood his facial expression. "I'm alright. It's just that I get a slight headache when I cannot remember a detail about my life. Are we almost there? I think that my Garchomp hates the cold. She's a Dragon/Ground-type."

He nodded in reply, and pointed towards the boulder in front of them. Then, Red rolled it away, and stepped in before her. His Snorlax dozed soundly, his snores echoing around the warm and toasty cave, while his fat practically filled the entire small space. Hastily, Red recalled the bulky Pokemon into its Pokeball.

Cynthia laughed behind him. At least her laugh wasn't annoying. It was rather pleasant, Red had to admit. "I've seen Snorlaxes several times before, though I can't remember where. But I do recall that sometimes in Kanto children will use a Snorlax as a trampoline. Which reminds me...which region is this?"

"...Kanto and Johto," Red replied. How much memory did she have?

Cynthia also walked into the cave, as Red silently told himself that he was glad that he had recalled Snorlax. The space in there seemed suddenly tighter with two people and a Garchomp standing in it. Pikachu squeaked with laughter and hopped off of his shoulder. "Oh, are we on the border of the two regions? Mount Silver, I presume?"

He nodded, and braced himself for the onslaught of words to come, as he could tell from her facial expression that she was about to speak. However, to his surprise, she didn't say much, save for, "Well, we'd better close the entrance then. It's cold on this mountaintop, isn't it?" She rolled the boulder back into place, slightly startling Red that she was strong. He didn't underestimate the female gender, as he knew many strong women (one example of these women was Leaf Green. Boy, was she tough and feisty), but the boulder was quite heavy. Before, Red could barely push it. He had had to strengthen himself up for quite awhile before he had been able to budge the boulder.

"I don't know what region I'm from," Cynthia began. _Oh no,_ Red thought. _Just when I begin to think that she's gone quiet, she starts to talk again. _"But since I'm a Trainer, my Trainer Card will have my region on it, won't it?" She began shuffling through her pockets. "Oh. They're all empty. Well, I must be unorganized if I don't have a wallet or Trainer Card on me! My house is messy too, and...oh, I don't remember anymore. This is quite frustrating. At least if I get Alzheimer's disease when I'm old, I'll be-"

"Your Pokemon," Red quickly interrupted, glad that he had something to say to interrupt her. Alzheimer's was a slightly touchy subject for him, as Professor Oak's wife, Blue's grandmother, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and had always been kind to him. Recently, though, she had begun to forget who Red was.

"Oh! Yes! You are indeed very smart. Thank you. When you see my Pokemon, can you identify what region they're from for me? Thank you, Red." She moved to the center of the room, almost stumbling over several objects on the way there. "Bye, Garchomp. I need to recall you to make room for the others." The large dual-type nodded and willingly returned to its Pokeball.

Her first Pokemon that she called out was a dog-like Pokemon on two feet. "Wow, it's a Lucario!"

Red was surprised. This woman had a Garchomp and a Lucario? Was she a strong Trainer? Perhaps he could battle her...No, she was still disoriented from her amnesia. "Hoenn, Sinnoh, or Unova."

"Well, those places are far from here. Thank you, Lucario. I'm afraid that I lost my memory, though, so I don't remember you that often. Return! Next Pokemon...Wow! It's a Milotic! How beautiful..."

The process continued, and soon Red had been able to deduce that Cynthia was from Sinnoh. He had only battled a few Trainers from Sinnoh, having never visited the region itself. Red, seeing the kinds of Pokemon that she owned, had also been able to deduce that the woman was at least a decent Trainer. They had also seemed to be blissful, and genuinely upset when they realized that their Trainer could not remember them, so Red had concluded that Cynthia been a loving Trainer. Good. He would have hated to know that he had given an abusive Trainer a place to stay.

"I love my Pokemon!" exclaimed Cynthia as she let out her Garchomp again. "Maybe I don't remember them that well, but they're wonderful already!"

Red dipped his head, agreeing. For once, he did not find her enthusiasm irritating.

**Did you really think that they'd like each other at first sight? I'm a chatterbox, and most of my friends are really quiet people. Some of them found me seriously annoying at first. Haha.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry for not updating you have skimmed over the past couple of Author Notes (which I realize are quite long), this takes place in the GAME UNIVERSE. So, no Ash or whatever and the Cynthia here is not the manly-voiced Cynthia from the anime. And as I've only read two novels from the manga, there is no Yellow or whoever in here. Sorry. **

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah, I don't own Pokemon. **

Moonlight peaked through crevices in the boulder that blocked the cave wall. Cynthia was awake listening to the snores of her Garchomp. She looked over at Red, his face illuminated by the moonlight. While he was silent in the daytime, he was definitely not quiet at night , as he mumbled in his sleep very often. The blonde smirked as she saw a trail of drool down his chin. And to think that he was frightening when he was awake.

Okay, fine, she was willing to admit that he was a little - just a little- cute. There was something terrifying about him, though. Was that something his tense posture, which always seemed ready for battle? Was it the color of his eyes (an odd mix of chocolate and crimson)? Was it his stoic facial expression? Whatever that frightening aspect about him was, Cynthia knew that she just wanted to leave the mountaintop as soon as possible and find normal human civilization.

She wasn't sure yet what exactly she wanted to do when she reached normal human civilization. Of course, she'd visit the local medical center first to check for any possible injuries that she might have had received while ascending the mountain. But after that, what next? How would she find her family and friends (if she had any- Cynthia honestly hoped that she wasn't some antisocial freak, like Red seemed to be)? How would she find her way back home? How would she recover her memories, if that was possible at all? The more that she pondered upon these questions, the more frightened that she became.

Eventually, and fortunately for her worn out mind, these questions exhausted the poor woman into a deep, deep sleep.

thisissupposedtobealinebuti'mkindofstupidsoimagine thisisaline

_His gray eyes stared at her desperately as he asked, "Where are you, Cynthia? We're all looking for you. Come back. Please."_

_She shook her head. "I can't."_

thisissupposedtobealinebuti'mkindofstupidsoimagine thisisaline

It was her Garchomp who prodded her awake the next morning. Still feeling hazy with sleep, Cynthia began to slowly rub her bleary eyes, then halted when she sensed that her face felt somewhat odd. She tapped a slender finger to her cheek, realizing that it was wet. _Oh._ Her face was damp with rapidly drying tear tracks. Apparently she had been crying during the night. But why? Cynthia tried with all of her mental might to recall her dream the previous night. Something in her dream must have made her cry, of course. She may have not been able to remember anything from her own life, but Cynthia was sure that she was a woman who did not cry very often nor cry very easily.

After a while, Cynthia gave up on trying to remember her dream. All that she had been able to remember was that she had seen a man. Really, there wasn't anything important about the dream, except for the fact that it had made her cry. And yet, she could hear a nagging voice in her head that seemed to belong an elderly woman, saying, "Dreams are important, Cynthia. Can't you get that in your head for once? Sheesh. Your generation is honestly the stupidest generation in the entire history of mankind."

Cynthia quickly shook her head. Great. She was definitely going crazy. First, she went and climbed a mountain. Then, she lost her memory. Following that, she accepted help from a total stranger with a cozy cave that just so happened to be conveniently located at the summit of the aforementioned mountain. And now, she was starting to hear voices from old ladies in her head.

"Pika."

Startled by the sudden sound, Cynthia's head swiveled around to see Red's Pikachu staring at her. His fur gleamed with streaks of gold, platinum, and white in the sunlight that streamed through the cracks in the cavern walls. Meanwhile, his round, dark eyes gazed at her in an adorable way.

She kneeled down to coo at him. While her team was pretty awesome, none of her Pokemon were really cute. Perhaps her Togekiss was borderline adorable, but that was it. This Pikachu, however, was the epitome of lovable. "Hello there. You're very cute. Do you have a name?"

"He doesn't like that."

Cynthia was startled once again. Were Red and his Pokemon full of surprises? To mask her surprise, Cynthia coolly and calmly stated back, "He doesn't like what? Could you be a bit more specific, please? I'm afraid that your disliking of speech is a bit of a liability."

The blonde noticed that Red's lower lip twitched. In a somewhat smug tone, she thought to herself, _He's annoyed by me. Good. Maybe he'll stop being so frightening soon enough. Hm. I wonder if I was this confident before I lost my memory?_

Sighing, Red replied, "He doesn't like being called cu...uh...are you _petting_ him?"

Cynthia stroked the Pikachu's fur, staring back defiantly at the man. (or perhaps boy? Cynthia wasn't really sure how to define the stranger. He seemed to be the age of a man and yet, have a boyish face...). "Oh, well, I do think that he does like being called cute. I mean, he's letting me pet him. And I'm absolutely sure that tough, manly people or Pokemon do not allow others to pet them."

"Uh..."

"Well, you're not very intelligent, are you? Argh!" After Cynthia had insulted Red, his Pikachu had shocked her with a jolt of electricity. Maybe the jolt had been a bit weak, but still, it affected Cynthia. Red smiled under his ball cap. His smirk did not go unnoticed by the blonde, or his Pikachu. A few seconds later, Red was no longer smirking. Instead, he was holding his left arm, which was temporarily paralyzed from the shock that he received by his Pikachu.

After a few moments of silence, Cynthia spoke. "So...I'm guessing that he has his own way of doing things?"

Red shrugged. The cave was silent again, and the mood quickly turned awkward. Cynthia stared at Red. Red looked away. Finally, Cynthia asked, "Can you please get me off of this mountain today? You said that you would."

He nodded in response, seeming eager to be away from her too.

They began their trek down the mountain, with Red going at a rapid pace. Oddly enough, the wild Pokemon that they saw immediately grew tame once they saw who the head traveler was. Cynthia observed as several Geodude shrank back when Pikachu waved at them. And so, Cynthia concluded two things: either the Pokemon on the mountain were ridiculously timid, which she did not think to be the case, or Red and his Pikachu were ridiculously strong. She glanced back at her Garchomp. They were strong too, right? Cynthia refused to be outdone by the quiet man in front of her.

Caught up in her thoughts, Cynthia did not see the obstacle in front of her until she tripped over it and fell, rolling head over heels. Fortunately, she did not roll very far. However, several things had occurred as a result of her fall.

First of all, her beloved trench coat was torn, and now unsuitable for her to wear. This distressed her a little. Second, her pants was matted with cobwebs and dust. Third, her hair was now a great deal shorter, and was also unevenly cut. "My hair!" she cried out in anguish.

Cynthia did not miss the eyeroll that Red gave her as he walked towards her with her Garchomp. "Hurt?" he inquired of her.

"No," she replied. She shivered a bit from the cold air, so he handed her his jacket. A bit surprised at his kindness, she thanked him with a smile. Red shrugged and continued to walk on, not seeming to care that he was now left with a thin black T-shirt.

About half an hour later (it was difficult for Cynthia to keep track of time in the cave), they exited the mountain and entered into the little town outside of it, known as Silver Town. This town could hardly be called a town, as it only consisted of only about a dozen buildings. At least there was a Pokemon Center.

The pair passed several construction workers, who seemed disgruntled as they fiddled with a fallen utility pole on the street.

"What happened here?" asked Cynthia to one of them, curious.

He looked at her oddly, as if the situation was clear and obvious. "Snowstorm of course. You know, the one that happened last night? It took out the electricity and now people are complaining about not being able to go on the Internet or watch TV. They're lucky none of their Pokemon were hurt. The Pokemon Center's closed." The worker turned back to the pole.

Cynthia turned to Red. "Well there goes my hopes for finding my family. I guess that I'm stuck here for awhile?"

Red sighed in response, while his Pikachu hopped up and down excitedly.

**The updates for this story might be a little slow. Just a warning. I'm finishing my summer homework, while watching Doctor Who (even though I'm American and not British), and playing through my Nuzlocke, and surfing DeviantArt. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh, hey there! Well, I'm adjusting to a new school, so I've been a tad bit too busy to update. Sorry about that. On with the show!**

**DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own Pokemon. If I did, I'd be revising a whole lot of designs-except for Team Flare, because they are absolutely the most fashionable antagonists that I have ever set my eyes upon.**

The region of Sinnoh was in a great panic. Their great Champion, their beloved leader, their revered golden girl, was _gone_. And without her, they were like a lost flock of sheep without a shepherd. She had been their Champion for years now, but before she had come along, Sinnoh had been subject to weak governors and oppressive tyrants. The children admired her and aspired to be like her, the political critics praised her, the soldiers gladly fought for her and the region, while the people cheered for her. Of course, there was a multitude of problems, but with her as their forerunner, they had been confident in facing obstacles. Now that she was missing, what were they supposed to do?

Everyone knew that she had not been the only heroine in the universe-is-collapsing-oh-no-what-do-we-do fiasco of the previous year. However, the other heroine was still a _child_, and a dreamy, restless one at that. She was always on the search for adventure, and had even admitted it herself. When Dawn had defeated the Champion, she had quickly turned down the title, saying that she was not at all suited for the position of leadership, and had headed off to the Battle Zone island. The people, including Dawn's own mother, had let out a collective sigh of relief, and were quite glad for their Champion and their protector. For surely, with them at the helm of the things, there was bound to be lasting peace for the next thirty, forty, fifty or so years. And peace there had been, until recently. Precisely, last week.

Dawn had arrived at the Jubilife International Airport to receive her mentor back from her trip to Kanto. Professor Rowan, the region's leading expert on Pokemon, and his assistant, Lucas, had accompanied her, along with two of the Gym Leaders and Bertha of the Elite Four. But when they waited at the exit of Gate 4, they saw a long line of people without their blonde-haired, stormy-eyed Champion. Mystified, they called the pilot of Cynthia's private jet, only to find that she had not asked him to fly her at all in the past five months. Quickly they alerted the airport officials, but six and a half hours later, their Champion remained unseen. Soon the media had found out, and TV stations, journalists, and bloggers had all been working in a flurry. The numbers of Kantonese officials had been anxiously dialed while airports in every region had been scoured. Still, the results were discouraging. No one, in Sinnoh or Kanto, had seen the Champion in quite awhile.

Five days later, Dawn found herself nervously holding a phone in one hand and a small sheet of paper in the other. On the sheet of paper, in cramped handwriting, was the hastily scrawled words of _Professor Oak's number_, and a string of numbers under them. Professor Oak was Kanto's most cherished genius, and had been rated the world's #1 Pokemon expert for the past thirty-seven years. He hadn't given any information on Cynthia yet, but that was only because no one had been able to get in contact with him in the past week. In this very moment, Dawn seeked to resolve that. She dialed his number.

"Hello? This is Professor Oak speaking."

"Professor Oak?" Dawn took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "I'm Dawn. You know, Dawn Berlitz? You gave me your number a few weeks ago when we met."

"Ah, Dawn!" exclaimed the Kantonese professor. "Well, what a surprise! May I ask why you're calling me?"

"Um…"stammered Dawn. She was not considered by others to be an arrogant person, but Dawn had expected that the reason that she was calling Professor Oak to be fairly obvious. After all, hadn't everyone heard of what had happened to Cynthia? Then again, Professor Oak was quite renowned for his scatterbrained personality. "Professor, have you seen the news lately?"

The line went silent on the other end as the Professor went deep into though. Then, he happily replied, "Nope! I can't say that I have glanced at a newspaper or turned on the telly in the past sixteen months, except to watch Doctor Hoothoot and Pretty Little Liepards. Oh, and Unova's Next Top Model! Those shows are definitely the bombdiggities, wouldn't you agree?"

Dawn pursed her lips. Truth be told, she had never watched any of those shows, and she wasn't planning on do so either. "Looks like I'll just have to tell you the news myself, then. Cynthia's gone."

"Oh, hullabaloo- _what_?"

"She's gone missing," sighed Dawn.

"Really? That's quite the bummer," remarked Professor Oak. "I s'pose that you're asking me where she went? Well, luckily for you and the rest of the world, I actually do have some clues."

Inhaling a sharp intake of breath (Dawn hadn't even bothered to really expect any help from the great professor), Dawn asked for the professor's information. She was pleasantly surprised and rewarded with his words.

"Considering the day that she was last seen by Kantonese citizens, I may have been the last person that she spoke to," remarked Professor Oak. "She came to my lab in the morning, asking for a pass to climb Mount Silver. Given that she was the Champion of Sinnoh, I gladly gave it to her. I also let her drive my Jeep up to Silver Town. Actually, I was just wondering yesterday why she hadn't returned it to me yet...that Jeep is my baby, you know. I've had it for eighteen years, and it requires special maintenance. I do hope that she hasn't gotten it scratched or dented or anything like that. Before she left, I gave her a list of very specific things that she should not do with my Jeep. One of them was to only play Dustin Bibarel CDs. He is the only artist qualified enough to be blared on the speakers of my precious. And-"

"Mount Silver?" asked Dawn. "Why would she go there? I know that there are a bunch of myths surrounding the mountain, especially about the Red Coat, but I never thought that she was interested in them. After all, why would any Champion, resigned or not, actually dare to live at the summit?"

Again, the line went quiet for a few seconds. When the professor spoke again, his voice was oddly stiff. "Why she went to climb the mountain is not important. The fact of the matter is, Cynthia went to ascend Mount Silver. Since no one in any town or city has claimed to have seen her yet, let's just assume that she arrived safely at the mountain."

"But- but what if she's hurt? What if something happened to her when she was climbing the mountain?"

Professor Oak let out a sympathetic sound. "There's a reason why only a very, very small group of certain people are entitled to have access to the mountain, Miss Berlitz. As one of the privileged, Cynthia is expected to be able to defend herself. The Pokemon there aren't exactly at low levels."

"But there must be some way of knowing how she is!" cried Dawn.

"I suppose I could get…" trailed off Professor Oak. Suddenly, Dawn heard him call out into the background, "Blue! Get your bum over here! Now! This is important!"

There was a scuffling, some muffled yelling, and then a _thud_. Dawn bit her thumbnail, waiting impatiently. Finally, a voice came on from the other end again. But this time, it was a younger, more bored, and slightly throatier version of the professor's. "Yes?"

"Um, Mister- wait, no, Champion- Blue- wait, that's not right, you're a Gym Leader now-"

"Just call me Blue," sighed the other end. "Didn't you want to ask me about Mount Silver?"

"Um, yes," answered Dawn. "Your grandpa said that Cynthia went to Mount Silver, and that you know a lot about it, so maybe you could, you know, find a way to contact Cynthia?"

"Well…" Blue began, "I've got good news and bad news for you, kid. First of all, I know a guy who lives on- I mean, near the mountain. He could tell me if he's seen your Champ. What sucks is that he doesn't have a Pokegear, so I can't contact him. Not only that, but yesterday there was a huge snowstorm in that area, so all the lines to Silver Town are down. No one there can use the Internet or their phones or anything."

Dawn's heart sunk to her stomach. "Well...well, can't you just fly over there? I mean, you ARE the ex-Champion."

Blue snorted. "If you watch the news on Kanto right now, you'll know that absolutely _nothing_ can get past those mountains of snow. I'm sorry Dawn, but you'll have to wait a few days. Believe me, I'm worried too, and I don't want anything to have happened to her."

"She could be dead!" shouted Dawn. In the back of her mind, Dawn knew that it was irrational for her to be upset at Blue- it wasn't his fault that the weather was acting up. But she was worried for her region's Champion, her mentor, and her friend. Cynthia had been there for her since the early days of her own Pokemon journey. Without her, Dawn couldn't have saved Sinnoh all by herself- and even if she had been able to, she would've crumpled under the pressure of acting as a region's Champion.

"I know, kid." For once, Blue sounded weary and old. The cockiness was out of his voice. "I can't do anything though. I'll call you when any news gets through, kay? Bye." _Click_.

Rubbing her eyes, Dawn sat down on the nearest chair that she could find. Selfishly, she wanted to be back at the Battle Zone, having fun instead of carrying a burden that felt too heavy for her thin shoulders to bear. Hadn't journalists cynically called her "just a child" when she had saved the region? If so, why couldn't this problem be someone else's?

She swallowed, pushing her negative thoughts out of her mind. Of course she knew why Cynthia's disappearance concerned her. Dawn had been one of the few people actually close to the Champion. Besides, she had saved the region once, and logically, she could save it once more.

The phone rang. Dawn started, thinking that it was Blue, and that perhaps, perhaps he had indeed found some news or a way to get Cynthia back. Flickering her eyes to the screen, Dawn sighed, and resignedly reached for the device.

_Steven Stone_, the words on the screen read. She would much rather that the screen said "Cynthia" or "Blue", but Dawn knew that she had to receive the call. Steven Stone definitely had a right to be involved in this too. After all, wasn't he Cynthia's boyfriend?

**Derp.**


End file.
